Separation
by starlitnocturne
Summary: Raieya and Gwaine have been traveling partners for several months. Gwaine getting thrown out of a tavern or going missing for a while is nothing unusual for Raieya. But something is different about Rockmill. (takes place just before s3ep12. A take on how Gwaine ends up where he is when Arthur and Merlin run into him) (See profile for full story list in order)
1. Chapter 1

Pale light peeked through the old curtain in Rockmill tavern. Raieya groaned, slowly opening her eyes. It was far too early for her to be awake after playing a full set the night before. She yawned and stretched, rolling over to see if Gwaine had snuck back in sometime during the night. She was alone still. He must've gone to the other tavern after getting thrown out of theirs. Raieya shook her head, deciding she might as well get up and go find him. She pulled her dress from the night before on over her shift and twisted her hair back loosely with her clip. Sticking her dagger in her boot, just in case, she headed out the door.

Raieya checked the stables first, knowing that was one of the places he sometimes stayed for the night. The barn was empty though, save the horses.

Next she decided to check the other tavern. Raieya returned to her room to grab her cloak, then walked up the road to the other tavern. Since it was early she knocked on the door. She waited briefly then knocked again when there was no answer. Surely someone must be there to see overnight guests off. Just as she was about to walk away, a tired looking older man opened the door.

"Hello," said Raieya. "I'm looking for my partner. I wondered if you could tell me whether or not he's staying here."

"If he's your partner how come you don't know where he's staying?"

"He was staying with me, down the road, but he got into a bit of a fight and was kicked out."

"Well he's not here," said the man. "We have no place for overnight guests here."

"You're sure he's not there somewhere?" asked Raieya.

"Aye," nodded the man. "You might check tonight if anyone's seen him."

"Thanks," said Raieya, turning to go.

That was odd, she thought. If Gwaine wasn't at the other tavern nor in the stables, then where was he? Surely he hasn't found someone to bed when he was as drunk as he was last night. Maybe he had already returned to the tavern and she had just missed him.

Raieya hurried back down the road to her room to see if Gwaine was there. She flung the door open only to find the room still empty. Where was Gwaine? Going over to the corner of the room, she saw his bag was still there. He wouldn't leave without his bag. Raieya sighed, irritated. She decided to go ahead and have breakfast without him and hope he'd turn up soon.

When Gwaine still hadn't returned that evening, Raieya was worried. He'd never been gone this long. And he wouldn't just leave her. They had a deal. Besides, she still had all of his things and his horse was still in the stables. She decided to head back to the tavern up the road and see if anyone had seen him.

This time the tavern door was unlocked and Raieya entered the main room of the tavern. She walked over to the bar where a different man was working. She ordered some mead and paid the man.

"Were you by chance working here last night?" she asked, taking the mug.

The man nodded. "Why'd you ask?"

"My partner came here last night I believe," she answered. "Average height, thin, brown hair, beard, probably pretty drunk. Did you see him?"

"No," said the man firmly. "I don't believe so."

"Are you sure?" asked Raieya. "He would've been wearing brown breeches, pale blue shirt. Would've come in late."

"Not here," said the man again.

"I was sure he came here," Raieya persisted.

"He didn't," said the man firmly. "Was your partner, you say? You sure he didn't just leave you?"

"He wouldn't," Raieya answered quickly. "I know he wouldn't."

"Mhmm," said the man, clearly uninterested. "Sorry, miss. You're wasting your time. He wasn't here."

Aggravated, Raieya left her mug and strode toward the door. Halfway to the door a man grabbed her arm. Raieya wrenched away from his touch, turning around to see who it was. An unfamiliar face greeted her.

"Have a drink with me," he said.

"I really don't-"

The man leaned in closer to her.

"I heard you were looking for someone," he said, quietly.

Raieya nodded, following him to a table.

"What'cha drink?"

"Mead," she answered.

The man went up to the bar and returned with two drinks, placing one in front of her. Raieya took a small sip, trying to determine if it was safe.

"You're lookin for a man, correct?"

Raieya nodded. "My partner. Did you see him?"

"Yes. He was here last night."

"Then why'd the bar keep tell me he wasn't?" asked Raieya in disbelief.

"Because," the man replied. "He has a deal with a slave trader. Man named Jarl. He serves drugged drinks to those comin in late and already drunk. Jarl pays him a bit extra and gets a new slave. Your friend came in late last night. He got one of those drinks. Passed out. Two guys carried him out. Said they were takin him home. I suspected otherwise."

"Where did they go?" Raieya demanded.

"I'm afraid I can't help you with that," the man replied. "Rumor has it Jarl's got a place in Cenred's lands. Just over the border."

"Why are you telling me this?" asked Raieya. "How do I know you're not lying?"

The man shrugged. "Born and raised here. Get tired of seein men disappear."

"Well, thank you," said Raieya, reaching into her coin pouch.

"No need," the man replied.

Raieya nodded to him and rose, heading out the door.

She quickly returned to her room, gathering her things and deciding to get on the road immediately. She could cross the border tonight and make camp, then hopefully track the men in the morning. If she caught up with them before they reached their stronghold she would have a chance to free Gwaine. They wouldn't expect anyone to be pursuing him.

Once Raieya packed her bags she hurried out to the stable to load the horses. She didn't want to risk leaving Gwaine's horse and if she rescued Gwaine he would need his horse anyway. In the meantime she could use him to carry the bags.  
Once the horses were ready she hurried off into the fading light away from Rockmill and toward Cenred's lands.

Raieya kept the horses going at a quick pace until it was too dark to see. She pulled off the road, satisfied that she had at least made it across the border. Now that she was in Cenred's kingdom she would have to be extra cautious as it was notorious for border bandits. Making sure she and the horses were well hidden, she settled in for the night.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Raieya set off at first light, choosing to eat an apple for breakfast as she rode. She kept her eyes peeled for signs of a group that had made camp or started off on a different path. Sometime around the evening she spotted an area of brush that had obviously been trodden by what must have been several people. Deciding to take a chance, Raieya broke off the road and began to follow the tracks. She rode hard, pushing the horses to keep going until it got too dark to see the trail.  
Raieya was restless that night, anxious to know whether or not she was heading the right direction. She wondered how far ahead of her Gwaine's captors were. If they were traveling with slaves then they shouldn't be too far away.  
Raieya also felt uneasy. She generally avoided Cenred's lands because there were known slave traders here. Without Gwaine to watch her back she couldn't trust herself to fall asleep completely.  
As much as she hated to admit it, she missed him. Not only that but she was also worried about him. She knew he would've been pissed when he woke up and found himself captive. She hoped he was smart enough not to do anything to get himself killed.

Raieya got an early start the next morning, picking the trail back up at first light. She pressed on into the afternoon when what looked like part of a large stone fortress began to loom in the distance. Could this be the slave trader, Jarl's? Raieya picked up her pace, eager to get closer. She could hide a short distance from the fortress and then figure out how to get in. There would probably be guards posted. Perhaps she could sneak by them when they changed shift or maybe she could pick one off and disguise herself. A disguise would be best she decided. Then she could look for Gwaine inside with a smaller chance of detection.

Raieya pressed on into the evening, stopping when she neared the fortress. She was very close but hopefully far enough away that none of Jarl's men might find her. Securing the horses, Raieya settled in for another restless night.


	3. Chapter 3

When the sun had risen and light streamed through the trees Raieya decided to get closer to the fortress on foot. She made sure she had her sword, dagger, and bow, then set off into the woods. A short distance from the castle she heard what sounded like two men talking and froze, quickly ducking into some brush.

"You hear something?" asked one of the men.

"Thought so," the other replied.

Raieya held her breath as they began to look around the area across from her.

"Nothin here," said the first man.

The second man was not satisfied. He was coming her direction. Too close. If she didn't do something he would find her. Drawing her sword, she rushed toward the man, catching him off guard. He didn't have time to react before Raieya felled him. The second man was not so easy. Seeing what happened to his partner he immediately engaged Raieya. He struck at her with vicious force. She parried his blows, looking for an opportunity to counterattack. She noticed a weakness in his side and struck, just barely missing. This angered the man further, striking wildly at her now. Raieya dodged his blows, returning some of her own. Suddenly he changed the path of one of his blows, aiming toward her left side. Raieya tried desperately to avoid him but it was too late. Pain seared through her as his sword sliced into her. She felt the warm rush of blood as she clutched at her wound. Determined to stay alive she did her best to ignore the pain, gathering all of her strength in one final attempt to beat the man. He was not expecting her to be able to counterattack and a look of surprise was frozen on his face as she ran her sword deep into his chest. The man fell backwards, eyes unseeing. Tears in her eyes from the pain, Raieya fell to her knees. Glancing at her wound she noticed her hand was covered in blood. She was in trouble. He had cut her too deep. If she didn't get help she knew her chances of survival weren't good. But what about Gwaine? She glanced back at the castle, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks at her failure. There was no way she could get to him now.

"I'm sorry, Gwaine," she whispered. "I have failed you."

Raieya struggled to her feet, knowing she had to get far away from the fortress before she was discovered.  
Moving as quickly as she could manage, Raieya made her way back to her camp. Thankful she had the foresight to pack her things before heading into the woods she collapsed by her bags. Unfortunately she had not returned with Gwaine to make a quick escape as she had been expecting when she decided to pack. Raieya gasped in pain as she attempted to clean her wound. The water she used to rinse it with made it hurt worse. Gritting her teeth, Raieya finished, ripping up an extra shirt to bind it with for the time. The bleeding still had not stopped but she had to get back on the road. As quickly as she could, Raieya loaded the horses. Then she mounted her horse, almost blacking out from the pain. She had to get out of the woods and back onto the main road. Surely she could find a village once she was on the road.  
Fighting to stay conscious, Raieya managed to guide the horses back to where the woods met the road. They were traveling back toward the border now, although Raieya knew even if she was not injured it was still a full days ride to Rockmill. She would have to find help here. In fact she would try to stop at the first place she saw.

As the sun began to sink on the horizon, Raieya noticed smoke curling from a chimney not too far in the distance. Clinging to her horse, she pushed toward it, fearing not finding shelter before night fell. As she got closer she realized the smoke was coming from a small farm, set back off the road. Desperate now, Raieya turned her horse and rode up to the farm. She pulled the horses up to the door, sliding from the saddle with a groan of pain. Raieya reached out and knocked, praying that someone would help her.  
A moment later an older woman dressed in plain clothes opened the door, a look of shock on her face at the sight of Raieya.

"Help," said Raieya, through gritted teeth. "Please help."

"Waylon!" the woman called, ushering Raieya inside.

A man appeared then, helping the woman lay Raieya onto a pallet.

"Fetch some water and cloth," the woman instructed the man named Waylon.

The woman started moving about as well, looking for something.  
Waylon returned a few minutes later a bucket of water, some rags, and cloth in tow. He set them down near Raieya as the woman returned to her side.

"Can you tell me your name?" asked the woman, dipping a rag into the bucket.

"Raieya," she gasped as the woman pushed aside Raieya's shirt and began to clean the wound.

"Raieya," she repeated. "I am Ayleth and that is my husband, Waylon. I promise we won't harm you. You're safe with us. Can you tell me what happened to you, Raieya?"

"Slave traders," Raieya replied through gritted teeth.

"Are you alone?"

Raieya nodded, struggling to remain conscious as Ayleth worked. Her wound was clean and Raieya noticed Ayleth threading a needle.

"Your wound is deep," said Ayleth, noticing Raieya's eyes on her needle. "It needs stitched up or it won't heal properly."

Raieya nodded.  
She felt the sharp prick of the needle followed by another rush of extreme pain as Ayleth began to stitch her wound. Raieya struggled to stay awake but the pain seemed to blind her and a moment later darkness took her.


	4. Chapter 4

Raieya woke the next morning to stabbing pain in her side. She lay still with her eyes squeezed shut as the events from the day before played out once more in her mind. Slowly she opened her eyes, looking around the small farmhouse. She was laying on a pallet near the hearth. Off to the side was a screen with what was probably a bed behind it. She tried to sit up to get a better look around, but collapsed back onto the pallet from the pain.

"Easy now," said a voice behind her.

Raieya heard footsteps, then Ayleth appeared at her side.

"Don't want to risk the stitches," she said, kneeling down beside Raieya. "How are you feeling?"

"Like hell," Raieya answered. "I can't thank you enough for taking me in last night, though. Truly, I owe you my life."

"It's nothing," said Ayleth. "You were in a bad way. What kind of a person would turn someone in such desperate need away?"

"There are those who would," said Raieya.

"Not here," Ayleth replied. "Let's have a look at your wound, shall we?"

Raieya nodded, allowing Ayleth to move aside her shirt. She noticed the shirt was not the one she had been wearing.

"I changed your shirt," said Ayleth, as if reading her mind. "I hope you don't mind. I didn't think it was a good idea to leave you in yours. All the dirt and blood wouldn't be good around a freshly stitched wound."

"No, not at all," said Raieya. "Thank you."

Raieya flinched as Ayleth touched the area around her cut.

"The stitches are holding nicely," Ayleth announced. "I'm going to put some salve on it now to help prevent infection."

Raieya drew in a sharp breath, biting her lip as her side seared in pain.

"There," said Ayleth after a moment. "Done for now."

She put a lid back on her pot of salve and set it aside.

"Would you like to try to eat something?" she asked.

"Yes, please," Raieya answered.

"I'll help you up," said Ayleth.

Carefully she grabbed Raieya under her arms and helped her stand. The pain made Raieya feel dizzy but after a moment she made it over to the little table and Ayleth helped her into a chair. After she was seated Ayleth got into a cupboard and brought Raieya over a bit of bread.

"Thank you," said Raieya, accepting the bread.

Ayleth sat down in a chair across from Raieya, studying her curiously.

"You know," Ayleth remarked. "We've had several people turn up at our door over the years needing our help in one way or another. But never a woman alone before. I'm curious as to how you ended up here. That is, if you're willing to share."

Raieya shrugged. "I suppose sharing my story is the least I can do."

She took another bite of bread before beginning her tale. "I'm a traveling minstrel. I was performing at the border town of Rockmill when my partner was served a drugged drink. Some men took him as soon as he passed out and before I had any knowledge of what had happened. One of the men there told me about a slave trader who plagued their tavern, so I resolved to go save my partner. I made it to what I believe is their fortress when two of the slave trader's men got too close to discovering me. I decided to attack them. The first one was easy, but the second man is the one who gave me this cut. I defeated him and fled, knowing I needed help. I rode through the day until I found your farm."

"Your partner must be very important for you to attempt all that alone," said Ayleth.

"We had a deal to protect each other," said Raieya. "I only regret that I wasn't able to uphold my part."

"Regardless that was quite a risk to take on your own," Ayleth replied.

"I used to travel alone," shrugged Raieya. "Usually I can keep myself out of trouble."

"We'll you were lucky yesterday for sure," said Ayleth. "I'm surprised you managed to get you and your horses this far. I believe I know the fortress you speak of. Belongs to a man named Jarl. Rumor has it he is a slave trader."

Raieya slammed her fist on the table in frustration.

"Sorry," she said at Ayleth's look of surprise. "That _was_ it. That's the man they said took Gwaine! I was right there!"

"I'm sorry, Raieya," Ayleth said gently, touching her arm. "You can't go back there now. As you've seen that's a dangerous place. You were lucky to escape the first time. Frankly, I'm surprised you made it that close. Waylon's told me of rumors he's heard about how heavily guarded Jarl usually keeps the area."

Raieya sighed, though she quickly discovered it was painful to do so.

"You seem well versed in healing," said Raieya. "Do you know how long it will take the wound to heal?"

"Yes," Ayleth answered with a smile. "My mother was a healer. Your stitches will need to be in for at least a week. Then at least half a week for the skin to finish repairing itself. We'll need to keep using the salve twice a day."

"I don't wish to impose on you," said Raieya quickly. "I can take the horses and move on."

"Nonsense," Ayleth replied. "You're most welcome here until you've recovered."

"You've done so much already," argued Raieya.

"Please," said Ayleth, with a wave of her hand. "Waylon and I are glad to help."

"Allow me to make it up to you somehow," Raieya insisted. "I have money-"

"No, no, no," interrupted Ayleth. "Tell you what. You say you're a musician, right? Why don't you play a little for us in the evenings after dinner? Nothing to long or strenuous while you heal of course."

"I can do that," agreed Raieya. "Are you sure there's nothing more?"

"No," said Ayleth firmly. "That's all."

"Oh," said Raieya, suddenly remembering her arrival the night before. "My bags and the horses-"

"Waylon took care of 'em," Ayleth interrupted. "Your bags are just over there. We've got the horses out in the pasture, tacks in the stable."

"Thank you," said Raieya, relieved. "I didn't want to leave Gwaine, my partner's, horse or belongings so I just took them with me."

Ayleth nodded. "Perhaps one day you can return them to him."

"That's the plan," she replied.

Raieya spent the day resting and chatting with Ayleth. She reminded Raieya a bit of her own mother. She even guessed Ayleth and Waylon were around the same age as her parents. Ayleth tended to Raieya's cut often, keeping a close eye out for any signs of infection.

Around dinner time, Waylon returned from working around the farm. Raieya wondered how he managed to maintain their land by himself. Maybe he had someone to help him she hadn't met. Ayleth made a stew for dinner and the three of them sat down at the table to eat.

"So Ayleth tells me you were attacked on Jarl's lands," said Waylon as they ate.

"Well, I might have started the attacking but yes," Raieya answered. "Two of his men."

"And your partner was taken by him?"

Raieya nodded. "I had hoped to intercept them before they reached the fortress."

"By yourself?" asked Waylon, incredulously.

Raieya nodded again.

"You are one brave woman, Raieya," he said. "Lucky too. Those men have a reputation for being brutal."

"I had to try," said Raieya. "My partner and I had a deal to protect each other. I only wish I had succeeded in rescuing him."

After dinner Raieya settled in a chair by the fire and played half a set for Ayleth and Waylon. They seemed to really enjoy her music and were very complimentary of her ability. Shortly after that Ayleth helped Raieya apply some more salve to her wound and lay down for bed.

Raieya lay awake for a bit that night, thankful to have been taken in by such kind people. She thought about Gwaine and hoped he was still alive. She couldn't help but miss his constant chatter. At last she drifted off to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Raieya spent the next two weeks at Ayleth and Waylon's farm recovering. Ayleth tended to her wound and at night Raieya would play for them. Raieya had grown very fond of the couple and they seemed equally as fond of her. After her stitches had been out for a few days, Raieya decided it was time to go. She discussed her plans to leave with Ayleth and Waylon the night before she intended to depart. Reluctantly they agreed that she should be able to travel.

Raieya stood at the front of Ayleth and Waylon's farm, her horses loaded.

"Do you have everything?" asked Ayleth.

"I believe so," said Raieya.

"Good luck, Raieya," said Waylon, clasping her arm. "You're always welcome back here."

Ayleth pulled Raieya into an embrace.

"Be careful, Raieya," she said. "I hope you find your partner one day. Then you can bring him by here for a visit."

"Thank you," said Raieya, about sadly. She would miss them. "Thank you both so much. For everything."

With one final hug from Ayleth, she mounted her horse, turning back toward the border.

Raieya rode back into Rockmill that evening, secretly hoping to find Gwaine had been waiting for her there all along. Of course, he wasn't. Raieya decided to stay there for a night before going back to her old life before she met Gwaine. Her plan was to continue to travel from tavern to tavern as she had always done. However, she planned on keeping Gwaine's things and leaving her name for him at every place she visited. She would hold on to hope that, perhaps, one day, fate would bring them together again.


End file.
